Tuesday 15-07 - Vatican, Late night touring

Today we planed to do Vatican city. We wanted to set out early but only got there at 10. The open square in front of Saint Peter´s was massive. I remembered it from the last time I was there. That was 8 years earlier with my parents. I was probably just a little too young at the time to fully appreciate it.

We walked down towards the city. There were shops on the way with really cheap but nice dresses in the windows. So we said we would come back later. The area wasn´t to bad. There were people outside telling us the line was 2 hours and we should by pass it with their tour. We had heard about these guys from an Australian we met the night before. It took us maximum 10 minutes to get in. The line moved quickly and we were still early enough to skip the worst of it.

The vast square infront of St Peters is dramatic. The enornous paved circle is sourrouded by equally oversized columns. A huge obelisk and some large fountains fill a fraction of the space. The rest is filled with people and their cameras. Trust the catholics to make everything as impressive as humanly possible.



After a short queue and breif security check we entered Saint Peter´s Basicila. Again, about as overly dramatic as anyone could make it. It is beautiful though. Michelangelo did his job well. Everything there is inspiring in it own way. Even the statues of saints are moving.



The design of the whole area is a testament to his skill. I liked the large front alter with the dove mosaic. So much many wonderful pieces on the walls there.



I don't think anyone could not enjoy the basilica on some level. I especially love the lines on the ground marking the length of other churches, just to show everyone that they have the biggest. Size does matter, it seems.



There was a long line of people waiting to walk past John Paul. I was curious to see him lying there, but not willing to brave that queue. We met back up and started walking to the Vatican Museum. It was hot already. The queue for St Peters now stretched out of the Vatican square into Italy proper.

Was very happy with the student discount I got with my card. The card was the best decision of the whole trip planning. It has paid for itself many times over, including once over just in the last 2 days of tickets. Yay for students.

Kate really wanted to see the School of Athens in the Raphael rooms. We made our way there, enjoying all the other work as we went. First was the room of Busts. Shelves and selves down a long hallway, filled with Ancient Roman busts and statues of all sizes.



The statues were kind of funny. They were examples of the more conservative religious rulers coming along and covering the male anatomy with stone fig leaves. Everything there had been covered up.



Then to the octagonal court. There were all sorts of statues on each side. Also some large stone baths.



Even the floors were art.

A lot of the statues looked familair. We had been on a tour here 8 years prior. Some of the facts and stories from back then started coming back to me. Like how they used up all this granite by making giant bowels and tombs with it.



The room of maps took my breath away the moment I stepped through the glass doors. It was a golden collage of small exquisite works filling the entire hallway. It didn't seem to end. Gold trimmed everywhere and never plain. Everywhere you looked was a place of beauty. So much effort must have gone into the room, into every tiny detail. Every part of it was perfect.



I remembered the Raphael rooms as we walked into them. They had some lovely pieces. I was looking forward now to the Sistine chapel a few rooms further. Well, past a large collection of modern christian art. We didn't stop for those. We got to the chapel and it was less crowded than I had remembered. There was space to move around. Kate and I saw two people leaving the high demand benches on the walls, so we jumped into the spaces.



We sat in the chapel for 30 minutes maybe. It wasn´t as crowded as I remembered. There was decent space between everyone. I sat and starred up until my neck cramped up and I couldn't look up anymore. Then I looked ahead at the last judgement. His work is perfection, his work is amazing. It was so surreal, seeing creation of man and Adam and Eve. The light flowed in through the windows and hit the paint and plaster, the very same that Da Vinci himself touched. The waves of blue and red and green light bounced off his brush strokes and were welcomed happily into my eyes.

We finished the vatican there. We had lunch at a near by tourist place, but the pasta was decent. I was thinking back to this woman I saw on the metro. She had a blue sundress with a big rimmed hat decorated by a blue bow. It was an awesome look.

I decided I wanted a big hat with a ribbon. And a flowing skirt. We stopped into the stores we saw earlier. It was great to shop with a girl. I was missing girly shopping expditions. They were really cheap too. For a few weeks I had wanted a dress and now finally found one I liked. I found this great brown sun dress with white spots. It tied into a bow at the back. I just needed a hat.

Back at the hostel rested from a day in the heat. Then decided what we should do with our last night. We were going to try the spanish steps pub crawl, but it was expensive (twice what most charge) and apparently filled with schoolies. While we deliberated, Peter the Canadian from the night before stopped by our dorm. His spotted boxers peeking over his pants matched Kate´s dress.

We all decided to go out and eat food. None of us brought our maps, so we looked at a bookshop map book at the station then set off to find Palazza Novona. We wanted one of the tourist menus there.

On the way we saw the Pantheon and Trevi fountain, with less people than during the day. Stilla large crowd though, so we decided to come back eve later. We found a tourist place that looked ok and sat down. We ordered some of the all inclusive menus they had on display. The food was ok.



There was a mix up with which food was which, mostly due to the fact their tiny cannaloni was so flat we would swear it was tiny lasagne The staff were minimally helpful. But we all laughed it off and everyone got a meal in the end. Plus we did get water and wine and coffee.

We found a tabbachi near the Novona and bought cheap white wine, along with plastic cups. We even got the guy to open the bottle for us. So classy. Everyone drinks on the streets there, so we figured it must be allowed. We sat on a bench by one of the large fountains. We talk and drank and enjoyed the warm Roman night.





We stopped briefly by the Pantheon and then at the Trevi by 2am. There were only a few small clusters here and there. Id never thought it could ever get this empty. No heavy crowds squeezing their way in. Just us and a few of us friends. Next to such a wonderful fountain.





On the way back to the hostel we stopped by the spanish steps. They were even emptier. It was dreamlike.

We all had a really good time. Peter said he might be in Holland when we are,so we might meet up again. Despite the shaky start at dinner, it was the way I would have wanted to finish Roma.